


Let Me Help You

by nettoii



Category: Marvel, Marvel's Avengers (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:19:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27047107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nettoii/pseuds/nettoii
Summary: Clint Barton has been listed as MIA in his search for Nick Fury, the team finally finds him but it's worse than they could ever imagine.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Let Me Help You

**Author's Note:**

> this is based on the events of the Avenger's game! I just wanted an angsty reason as to why clint would be working for AIM, i didn't expect it to be so long but i hope you guys like it.

Third Person’s POV

“Are you going to go say goodbye?”

He turned his head and watched as Natasha moved to stand by his side, the two overlooking the main courtyard of the Avengers HQ from a balcony. On the grass by a black sports car stood Clint and Steve speaking indistinctly. The conversation seemed bittersweet, with a hint of sadness behind both their eyes.

“What good will that do?” He muttered and leaned over on the railing, enjoying the soft breeze. “I haven’t talked to him in months.”

His friend smiled a little and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly, “you might regret it.”

Under any other circumstances he would have stayed stubborn and simply went on with his day, but ever since his parents passed last exchanges had always struck different. It was likely better to say something even if you have bad history as opposed to saying nothing at all.

It still didn’t make the build up less irksome however.

He then walked downstairs and out towards where his teammates were standing. He could feel his heart race, but he wouldn’t be able to tell you why. There are worse things in the world than talking to his ex, but it still felt so terribly daunting.

Their breakup wasn’t the cleanest, but it arguably could have been a lot worse. It wasn’t so horrible that they wouldn’t be able to work with one another, but dreadful enough that they never even looked in each other’s direction.

They had just wanted different things out of the relationship and given how much Clint’s been away due to SHIELD work, the distance ultimately was the driving force to their breakup. These days it honestly felt more as if Clint were never an Avenger, you barely see him at HQ anymore anyway.

“Tony … I didn’t think you’d join us.” Steve blinked at his surprising arrival, but the man couldn’t complain, he’s been trying to smooth out their relationship since they went their separate ways.

He sighed and rubbed his neck, “Nat said I’d regret it if I don’t and I don’t need another thing on my conscience.”

Clint stared at him as he leaned against the hood of his car. It seemed the younger man was equally unsure as to what to say. Steve must have noticed the tension in the air as he spoke up.

“He was just about to leave.” The leader cleared his throat and straightened himself up, “I’ll leave you two to talk … but good luck Clint, don’t hesitate to call if you ever need anything.”

The archer nodded with a slight smile and watched as the soldier headed back inside.

“Is this something you really want?” He muttered and turned his gaze away to a spot between their legs. “I thought you hated SHIELD … and _I don’t know,_ loved being an Avenger.”

“SHIELD needs me more than ever, and you guys will be completely fine without me.” Clint answered, his eyes glinting underneath the sunlight. “ _Besides_ , if there are any major emergencies I’ll still be around.”

“Why SHIELD? I mean Nat left a year ago and if I had to be honest I thought you’d leave a lot sooner than she would.”

“Call me optimistic but I believe when the world is truly at its lows, SHIELD will be one of our greatest allies.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms, barely believing Clint’s sentiment, “I’ve told you once and I’ll tell you again, the shady shit Fury gets you into is going to get you killed one day.”

Clint glanced at him and remained silent momentarily before turning around and opening the car door, “I’ll keep in contact.”

His eyebrows furrowed together as he watched them enter the car. There was nothing else they could have said to one another without it leading to another fight.

“For what it’s worth Tony.” Clint said just before he closed the door, “it was good to talk to you again.”

He managed a smile, “Try not to get yourself killed.”

“If I die, Viking Funeral yeah?” The blonde chuckled and turned on the engine, “Thor’s told me stories about them and honestly it sounds pretty sick.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.”

The door eventually shut, and he watched as the car disappeared into the horizon. He breathed out as he walked back towards the building. If he hated his ex, then why did it feel so gut wrenching to watch them go?

**_THREE YEARS LATER_ **

He ran down the hallways as he continued to dodge the bullets flying past his head. His breath hitched when the doors in front of him eventually bolted shut with no other way of escaping except the way he came.

He panted softly as he watched the AIM bots quickly creep up on him, as his hand instinctively reached for an arrow he paused when he realised he had none left. He had already fought his way through his far, there was no way in hell he was giving up now.

He slung the bow around his body and pulled out the knife that was strapped to his thigh. He manoeuvred through as much as he could, hacking and slashing at essentially anything that came in his way.

“ _I want him alive.”_ A voice suddenly echoed through the AIM laboratory. He recognised their voice but before he could think too much into it, one of the bots grabbed him by the neck.

He winced and kicked them on the chest, then piercing his knife through their arm, cutting through any visible wires. It must have worked because it instantly let him go and he stabbed the weapon through its head.

“I must say Bruce has _terrible_ taste in women.” He called out and ducked under another arm, attacking its legs. “Then again I did tell him I never liked you.”

Monica Rappaccini’s laugh came through the speakers, “ _I’m quite hurt that you don’t like me.”_

“You’re trying to kill me.”

_“I just want to talk … but are you that foolish thinking you can take my lab by yourself after you’ve been left behind?”_

He bit his lip; he was following a trail on Fury’s disappearance. His former boss had been missing since A-Day and he had been tasked to find them. All his digging eventually led him to an underground bunker where he found them, apparently the man had been attempting to take down AIM’s defences from the inside.

Fury then informed him that they had wanted to raid this particular AIM lab. He had his doubts about the success rate of this operation but if he didn’t follow the man, he likely would have lost their trail again.

His doubts rang true however when Fury completely left him the minute the mission went to shit. He didn’t have time to sit around and wallow in frustration.

“In all honesty no.” He huffed as he rolled out of the way, “but it’s better than rolling over and giving up.”

She audibly sighed, “ _you did somehow manage to take out most my reinforcements … but I suppose that’s why SHIELD likes you so much huh?”_

He was then struck on the back of the neck, he gasped and stumbled forwards, his vision spinning. One of them then pinned his hands against the ground, he managed to pull one hand free and used it to hit their face. It moved back and he quickly got back on his feet.

“ _At the end of the day however, you’re still only human.”_

Something then jabbed at his ribs, releasing a surge of electricity. He cried out and fell to his knees, his body unable to move even an inch. He screamed at himself to move even a finger, but weariness must have gotten the better of him. He had been running on complete adrenaline, and that couldn’t last forever.

“Damn it.” He whispered to himself, a mixture of sweat and blood dripping onto the floor.

Moments passed before he heard the sound of heels clicking down the hallway. His eyes flickered up, only to be met by Monica staring at him with a manic smile.

“ _Aw,_ did somebody get left behind?” She mocked and kneeled down in front of him, tilting his chin upwards.

He scoffed and licked his lips, “didn’t Tarlerton do the same to you?”

“Don’t try and group us together.” She pursed her lips and clicked her tongue, “from what I’m seeing, I’m not the one on the ground completely defeated.”

He shot her a lop-sided grin, “what could you possibly gain from keeping me alive? As you said earlier, I’m just a human.”

“You undervalue your abilities.” Her lips twitched upwards, with a wave of her hand he was hoisted on his feet and handcuffed. He hated being pushed around like a lifeless doll, but frankly he had no other choice. “AIM sees your potential … perhaps more so than SHIELD _ever_ will.”

**_HOURS LATER_ **

“Let’s start off with some easy questions.”

He was forced to sit in a chair with Monica sitting across from him with a tablet in her hands. They had released him from his cuffs; his hands weren’t tied together nor were they tied down to anything, but the soldiers surrounding him made him think otherwise from escaping. Along with that there was a collar around his neck, similar to the ones fitted on the inhumans and he’d rather _not_ find out what it does.

“Tell me your name.”

“Are you kidding me?” He shot her a look and scoffed, “you guys have my files and even if you don’t it’s not exactly a well-kept secret.”

She tapped something on her screen without glancing up, “answer the question.”

“And if I don’t?”

He saw somebody move from the corner of his eyes, the brass knuckles on their hands shone underneath the light. He swallowed and took in a deep breath, deciding it was better to keep his teeth than not answer a stupid question.

“ _Clint Barton.”_ He mumbled as he studied the room briefly, attempting to find any escape routes but coming to a simple conclusion that there was only one door in and out.

She hummed and her eyes flickered upwards, “ _good_ , see that wasn’t so hard now was it?”

“Just spit out what you want from me.” He narrowed his eyes, tapping his foot on the ground.

She ignored him and moved on with her queries, “can I ask you how you knew where this lab was? Or I suppose, how did Fury know?”

“I’m just as clueless as you are.”

An arm then snaked around his neck from behind, immediately cutting off his air way. They pulled him upwards from where he was seated and moved the chair away momentarily. He gasped for air, as he attempted to pry their arm away from his neck.

As he blinked the spots out of his vision the same asshole with the brass knuckles appeared in front of him and spared no expense in slamming their fist into his gut. He let out a pained heave as the wind was knocked out of his body.

They dropped him on the ground and he panted for oxygen, rubbing his sore neck.

“Come on now, you know I don’t like secrets.”

“I’m not lying to you.” He whispered, unable to quite get his voice back. “I _really_ have no clue.”

As he saw their feet approach him once again, Monica raised her arm and stopped them.

“Leave him be, he’s telling the truth.” She quipped before turning her attention back towards her device, “you follow him so blindly, I admire your loyalty.”

“ _Well_ , blindly is a bit of a stretch.” He muttered as he finally regained his composure, “my loyalties are with SHIELD and he happens to be my former boss.”

She chuckled and her nails clicked against the glass, “but he left you behind … _though_ , I suppose it goes to show how SHIELD sees their field agents.”

“How is AIM any better?”

She answered and raised her shoulders a little, “if you’re good to me then I’m good to you, it’s simple logic.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll take my chances with SHIELD, I’m not going to lie, your recruitment speech needs some work.” He licked his lips, “I’ve been given the spiel one too many times and I gotta say, this one’s the weakest one yet.”

Her smile lingered and she leaned forward a little, “why work for SHIELD? I’m sure if you’re looking for money, many others would pay you more handsomely.”

“Because they’re not trying to enslave humanity under their regime?” His voice turned high pitched as he attempted to reason.

“Do you owe them a favour of some sort?”

He raised an eyebrow, “like I said earlier, you have my files-“

“I want to hear it come out of your mouth.”

He sighed and swept his hair out of his eyes, before going with the simple yet effective, “fuck you.”

This time he was pulled back by the hair, he winced at the sharp pain but before he could fight back metal came into contact with his stomach again. This time they didn’t stop at just one hit, each punch felt calculated too. At one point he felt an immense pain flare from his sides, which he could only assume was a broken rib … _or several actually._

He hunched over and coughed harshly onto the ground, blood spluttering everywhere. His vision spun but he forced himself to stay awake, too worried as to what they’d do to him unconscious.

As he heard the brass knuckles being sharpened against one another he raised his hand as best he could without stumbling over.

“ _Wait …”_ He sniffled as he took in a shaky breath, “ _please stop.”_

“Are you more willing to talk?” Monica asked in a condescending tone that made him want to rip the weapons off their hands and hit her.

“ _Yes_ … just stop hitting me.” He tried to breathe but the sharp pain jabbing into him made him think otherwise. “ _You know …_ if you wanted to get to know me better … you could have taken me to dinner.”

She laughed a little, “you’re quite adorable, anybody ever tell you that?”

“Plenty of my bed partners.” He coughed up whatever was stuck in his throat which apparently was just more blood. Then he moved into a position where it was easier to breathe. “But where were we again?”

“Why you work for SHIELD?”

“ _I …_ “ He trailed off briefly, asking himself whether he should really be saying anything; but what use would he have keeping it to himself anyway, “I owed Nick Fury a favour.”

“A favour worth dying for?”

He chewed his lip, “he saved my life when I was younger, and in return wanted me to work for him at SHIELD … I was just a scared kid at the time so I thought that was my best possible outcome.”

“Do you not enjoy working for them?”

His eyebrows furrowed together, “he’s made me do things I regret to this day but the only thing that kept pushing me forward was the idea that I was _finally_ doing something right.”

“And have you returned the favour?”

“Who the fuck knows?” He managed a laugh but gasped when the pain appeared once again, he eyed her slightly, “what part of this story is helpful to you whatsoever?”

“It’s just interesting I suppose.” She concluded before taking a glance at her screen once again, “let’s move on to something else shall we?”

He absently clutched at his swollen sides, unsure of how much more he was willing to be beaten.

“ _The Avengers.”_ She started with, “they’ve started to become a nuisance once again and you were on the team for a good while, one of the founding members were you not?”

“ _What?”_ He managed a smile, “AIM can’t handle a bunch of vigilantes? Don’t you have more than enough resources Monica?”

“They’ll be dealt with in due time … _and you’re going to help me.”_

He narrowed his eyes, “like hell I am.”

“ _Oh Clint_ , the Avengers are _exactly_ like SHIELD … they’ll just throw you away in due time, in fact they’ve probably already moved on.” She pouted a little and clicked her tongue, “you were Fury’s prized possession and look at where that left you.”

“I left the team out of my own accord, if I die here then none of it would be their fault.”

“You’ve been classified as MIA for years now, have they even tried to look for you?”

He pursed his lips unsure of what to say, “they have bigger fish to fry.”

“But they’re saving all those inhumans are they not?” She pushed and finally stood from her chair, setting her tablet down on where she sat. “I thought your team was meant to be like family, it’s a little shocking they haven’t tried to come for you.”

He remained silent, even if he did say something he was pretty sure he’d just shoot himself in the foot.

“You even dated Stark didn’t you?” She laughed as she attempted to get under his skin, “doesn’t it hurt knowing that the person you love doesn’t feel the same way back?”

“What do you know about my relationship?”

She crouched down in front of him and ran his hand through his hair, he turned his gaze away refusing to meet her gaze.

“He pitied the little SHIELD orphan who was being used so blindly, but decided it wasn’t worth it and left you.” She cooed and caressed his face with her thumb, “after all, what can you do for him? He’s a man who has everything, _you’re nothing special_.”

“Shut up!” He finally snapped and took a hold of her wrist, guns immediately being drawn to his head.

She smiled and told her men to stand down, “ _finally_ , a hint of the vicious Hawkeye I’ve heard so much about.”

His eyes fluttered and he immediately let her go, biting his lip until he tasted metal. She moved back a little and rubbed her sore hand before turning her back to him.

“You’ll come to realise SHIELD and the Avengers are not who they say they are, they don’t value you Clint … _they never have.”_

He bared his fangs at her, “I’m not working for you.”

“Not yet you aren’t, but I’ll break you eventually.” She hummed and picked up her tablet, “no one’s resilient to pain forever.”

**_??? TIME LATER_ **

He started to wonder if it was all worth it, if it was truly worth protecting a group of people he barely held connections to anymore. Whatever relationship he had with them was buried in the past, and in this world memories were worth nothing.

He wasn’t going to save himself clinging onto memories, and he certainly wasn’t going to save anybody else either. _Besides,_ it wasn’t as if all of his memories were positive either, if anything there were parts of it he’d rather omit out of his mind forever.

The Avengers had already been defeated once before, and that was without AIM even _fully_ running at full capacity. As optimistic as it was hoping that they’d succeed in their attempts to save the sunken world, _nobody wanted them._

The public hated them and the authorities hated them even more, they carried nobody’s support but their own. It was easier to forget about them and move on with your life as if the Avengers had never existed in the first place.

_Yet here he was._

Here he was being tortured every single fucking day, each day bringing a different type of pain, different fucked up methods he never thought were possible. He found himself praying that they’d go one step too many and just kill him.

He stopped screaming, mostly since nothing really left his body anymore. He stopped begging because they stopped listening to him and he stopped trying to fight back.

It must have been months by now, months of being AIM’s plaything right along side the inhumans they were experimenting on. But to him, it felt as if years had passed.

“Aren’t you tired Clint?” Monica’s all too familiar voice never seemed to leave him alone, “they’re not coming for you, nobody’s going to save you.”

He believed that around two weeks of being held captive, but for some reason his body continued to resist, playing hero for no logical reason.

“I think even if they did come for you, if they saw how you are now … they wouldn’t want you.” She spoke into his ear and he tried his best to drown her out, “they’re not going to save somebody as _worthless_ as you.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried so much, although it was mostly due to his body’s natural reflexes from being under an inhumane amount of pain, he stopped trying to hold it back.

They had drugged him one too many times, mostly with hallucinogens to wear his mind out. It always seemed to loop his worse fears, and although he knew it was coming it never seemed to change how frightened he was each time.

He’s never felt so alone.

“Fury left you behind to _die.”_ She placed emphasis on her words, “don’t you want revenge? After everything you’ve done for him, _how dare he treat you like some broken toy?”_

“Just kill me already.” He whispered as his vision continued to fade in and out, “you’re not going to get anything out of me.”

She chuckled and patted his head before giving orders, “put him under again, don’t wake him up until I tell you to.”

“ _No.”_ He shook his head as best he could, if he had to live through one more second of his nightmares he wasn’t sure what he’d do. “ _Please …_ anything but that.”

“I can make all the pain go away if you just give in to me.”

He paused and already regretted the words leaving his mouth, “go to hell.”

As the drugs were slowly but surely being pumped into his body, he overheard AIM lackeys sharing a conversation with Monica.

“Is he really worth all our resources ma’am?” They raised their concern, “we could make so much more progress if we forcibly make him work under us.”

“It’s better if he believes it’s what he wants.” She informed and eyed him slightly, “brainwashing is never a permanent solution … _you’ll see his worth soon enough._ ”

_His dreams were different today, it was quiet and awfully serene. He swallowed nervously and walked around with no destination in mind, everything surrounding him was simply a dull grey._

_He then took a look at his hands, his eyes widening when he realised that they were soaked in red, like he had dipped his hands in a bucket of blood._

_In his left hand was a bloodied dagger, and as he glanced back up he noticed a mirror in front of him. His heart fell when he realised he was covered in blood, however given there were no wounds on his body implied that it wasn’t his._

_He then felt something grip around his ankle, he flinched and quickly turned his head only to find bodies scattered around him. His breath hitched as he asked himself what the hell happened._

_One of the corpses turned its head to stare at him with their glassy eyes and it made him feel sick._

_Could he have done this? He asked himself as he nervously stared at the weapon in his hands once again._

_He then noticed one of the bodies, it was Steve Rogers’, their eyes had been slashed out and there was a giant gash on the side of their neck, blood frantically rushing out. He ran over towards them and tried to stop the bleeding by holding their head up a little, his hand forming a temporary seal over the wound._

_Panic ensued him as his breathing grew erratic, fearing over the thought of losing his friend._

_“Can’t you see all you do is bring death to those around you?” A voice caught him off guard and his head snapped up, desperately looking for the source. “You’re a monster Clint.”_

_Footsteps then approached him and somebody eventually came into view, his breath was caught in his throat as he realised it was Tony._

_“T-Tones? Please help me.” He begged and stared down at the body bleeding out beneath him, “he’s going to die if he doesn’t get help.”_

_“You did this to him.” Tony hissed with disgust and continued staring down at him, “soon enough you’ll kill the rest of us too.”_

_“No!” He raised his voice tears pricking his eyes, “I’m not going to hurt you!”_

_“You’re a loose gun … I told you SHIELD was just moulding you to be their weapon but you didn’t want to listen.”_

_He shook his head, “that’s not true-“_

_“Don’t be so fucking naïve!” The older man then shouted at him and he couldn’t help but whimper, “Fury never saw any potential in you to carry out justice, all he saw was a living weapon he could have under his fingers.”_

_“I just-“_

_“Look around you Clint.” Tony’s voice dropped as he vaguely gestured to the air, “you hurt everyone and all for what? Following Fury’s orders like an obedient dog?”_

_“Fury didn’t make me do any of this!”_

_Tony chuckled and crouched down in front of him to touch his face, “you and I both know SHIELD saw the Avengers as a dormant threat … you saw the contingency files … Fury would have asked you to kill us sooner or later.”_

_Tears ran down his face as he was unable to comprehend much more of this, “stop it … just stop talking.”_

_“They wanted you to leave the Avengers to keep a closer hold of you.” Tony mumbled in a comforting tone that he had grown accustomed to when they were dating, “but even then they threw you away … left you to die because they themselves were scared of what they created.”_

_“I didn’t want to hurt anybody.” He sobbed as the other man wiped his tears away, “I didn’t want to be alone either.”_

_“Look at how much SHIELD has hurt you, how much Fury has hurt you.”_

He woke up with a gasp, his body snapped upwards as he tried to manically escape his dreams. He looked down onto himself and noticed how much he was shaking, then noticing the amount of wires plugged into him.

He ripped them out of him before hands quickly reached down to stop him from doing anymore damage to himself.

“I need you to breathe.” Monica’s voice remerged again as his breathing continued to stay sporadic, “you’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t.”

He heeded her advice and tried his best to control himself by taking large inhales. An oxygen mask was eventually pressed to his mouth which helped him calm down.

“Where’s Fury?” He whispered as tears clouded his vision.

Monica narrowed her eyes, “we have an approximation of where he might be, why?”

He took a moment to shut his eyes, his breathing finally growing more even. “Because the next time I see him I’m going to put a bullet between his eyes.”

“The Avengers are going to try and stop you.”

The look in his eyes changed, “then I’ll kill whoever gets in my way.”

**_ELSEWHERE_ **

“ _Kate?”_

He watched as the young woman turned around from gazing at a nearby television. The second she laid her eyes on him she smiled from ear to ear and propped her sunglasses on her head. If he had to be honest with himself, she was the last person he thought he’d see these days, but it doesn’t mean her presence is unwelcomed.

“Tony!” She called out and walked over to hug him to which he hugged her back, “it is so good to see you, how are you doing?”

“ _Peachy.”_ He answered with a slight chuckle, “but I’ll live … _what about you?_ I haven’t seen you since, _well_ frankly since I was dating Clint.” He then glanced around, “speaking of, is he not with you?”

She smiled a little, sadness behind her eyes, “I actually came to you because of him.”

Then he saw something move out of the corner of his eyes, a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows.

“Don’t scare the guy with a heart condition Hill.” He joked a little and watched as her lips twitched at him. “What can I do you ladies for?”

“Your boyfriend.”

“ _Well_ , he’s more my _ex-“_

“We have reasons to believe he’s working for AIM.” Maria Hill cut him off once again and he found himself staring at her for a little too long. His eyebrows furrowed together before glancing over at Kate who shared his expression.

“It’s … _complicated.”_ Kate sighed and chewed at her thumb, “Hill seems convinced he’s turned on us but he wouldn’t do this, _he couldn’t.”_

Hill sighed and crossed her arms across her body, “we have to assume to worst; besides we have evidence.”

“What evidence?” He asked and watched as she walked towards a nearby war table and turned it on, pulling up whatever files they had on Clint at the moment.

His file appeared and Tony found himself drawn towards one particular detail.

“He’s been listed as MIA.” He eyed Hill who pursed her lips as a response, “how does he go from working for you to MIA?”

“ _Stark-“_

“How long have you lost him for?” He narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fists, he saw Kate move to interject but Hill stopped her, “I thought SHIELD was meant to have his back.”

The current SHIELD leader took in a deep breath before she opened another file for him, he turned his attention back towards the holograms and studied the information briefly.

“Barton was in charge of finding Director Fury after the events of A-Day.” She started to explain, “to which he did but not long after he updated us, he disappeared off-grid.”

“And how long has it been since he disappeared?”

“7 months.” She answered and he felt his stomach sink, “Bishop saw him last week at a warehouse, handling affairs for Monica.”

He took a moment to process the information, “you just … you let him go missing for _that_ long?”

“We had no idea where he was, and our sources say that AIM was involved in his disappearance.”

“So you let AIM have him for 7 fucking months!?” He suddenly raised his voice and the room turned silent momentarily, “why didn’t you let us know? We could have done something!”

“It was too risky and you barely had any resources, I wasn’t going to let AIM decimate you in order for an _attempt_ to save Barton.” She grounded as she kept a firm gaze on him, her expression then dropped, “ _besides_ , it wasn’t us that left him behind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Barton’s not stupid enough to do anything he doesn’t think he can handle, so he must have been with Fury when he went missing.” She thought aloud, “I think Fury must have left him in order to save the mission.”

He turned to Kate who still had a solemn look on her face, it was obvious she wasn’t handling the situation well either. Then again, Clint was like family to her and to have her mentor suddenly disappear then work for the enemy must have been difficult to cope with.

He can’t imagine what AIM must have done to Clint, surely he wasn’t working for them out of his own will right?

“I told him that SHIELD was going to get him killed.” He mumbled and rubbed his face, “and I can’t believe I might be right.”

“You may have no reason to believe me, but SHIELD under me won’t be anything like that.” Maria tried to ease him, “that’s why we’re making it a priority to find him and stop him.”

He raised an eyebrow, “what the hell do you mean by stop him?”

“If he’s working for AIM … he’s no longer our ally.”

“ _No!_ I refuse to believe that!” Kate suddenly cut in and he couldn’t help but notice the amount of pain on her face. “I’m sure they’re just forcing him! _He can’t be.”_

“ _Kate …”_ He murmured as he pulled her into another hug, “it’s okay, when we find him we’ll knock some sense into him.”

Hill’s gaze softened, “I need the Avengers to bring him in.”

“How do you propose we do that? He’s not going to just hand himself over.”

There was a pause before she spoke up once again, “I have a plan that might just work.”

Days later the Avengers were greeted by a completely unexpected face beside Hill in their meeting room. Given the context of the situation however, perhaps it was a good idea that they were here rather than not.

“ _Fury?”_ Steve asked the minute they walked into the room, “where the hell have you been?”

“In hiding; attempting to gather information to take AIM down for good.” Nick Fury explained as brief as he could. They clasped their hands behind their back and approached the team who were surrounding a war table.

“I don’t know if I should punch you.” Tony gritted and turned his gaze towards the holograms in front of him.

Fury sighed through his nose and shut his eyes briefly, “I did what I had to do.”

“Is the sake of a mission _that_ important to you?” He hissed and slammed his palms on the table, “you’d let one of your own die for information?!”

“The reason we’re this far forward is because of the information.” The older man grounded, “you have to understand it wasn’t an easy decision, Barton was one of my-“

“And now he’s working for the enemy.” He bared his teeth as he stormed towards the exit, he stopped by Fury briefly, “if worse comes to worst and we have to hurt him … _I’ll never forgive you.”_

With that the man left the room without another word. Kate attempted to chase after the man, but Natasha caught her before she could run off and shook her head.

Steve took in a deep breath, “what’s this plan of yours Hill?”

“I have no doubt in my head that the reason Barton’s siding with AIM is for revenge.” She thought aloud and crossed her arms across her body, “perhaps we can bait him out with Fury.”

“That’s a risky plan.”

“We have no other choice, we can’t underestimate him.” She pushed then opening a potential strategy using the war table, “when there’s a window of opportunity, we strike.”

**_TWO DAYS LATER_ **

“Bold of you to call the one person that probably wants to rip your head out the most.”

Clint Barton appeared from behind cargo boxes, his bow slung around his body. A smile appeared on their face, but it wasn’t warm, _god no_ , it was the polar opposite. The kind of smile that sent a chill down your spine, the kind of smile you’d run miles away from.

“Heard you were looking for me, were you that upset you couldn’t find me you’d join AIM?”

The blonde scoffed and licked his teeth, “ _please_ , you really think I care about AIM? It’s only a matter of time before I put an end to them too.”

Nick Fury raised an eyebrow, “we both want to put an end to AIM, with SHIELD’s resources we can-“

“Why?” Clint cut him off, the smile completely disappeared from his face. “So you can leave me again? Let me _fucking_ suffer again?”

“Leaving you wasn’t my first choice Barton.” Fury narrowed his eye, “but you know the dangers that come with this job.”

“They tortured me Nick.” The blonde’s voice laced with venom as he took a step closer, “ _over_ and _over_ again … but being betrayed by somebody I trusted, that hurts more than _anything_ they did to me.”

Fury’s hand hovered over the gun strapped to his thigh, “don’t do this Clint.”

“The damage has already been done; I have nothing to lose.” Their hand reaching for their bow, “I know where I stand with SHIELD, _with the Avengers.”_

The other man stiffened, “your team has nothing to do with this.”

“ _My team!?_ ” Clint raised his voice and in an instant his bow was in his hands. The tension in the air was enough to make anybody vomit. “The team that didn’t even try to save me?!”

“They couldn’t have-“

“ _Shut up!”_ He shouted and drew back an arrow, “I’ve had enough of your fucking lies.”

Clint’s arm tightened, his fingers seconds away from releasing the arrow that was knocked back. If he shot now he knew the other man would have had enough time to evade from a lethal shot, but he’d still make a body shot nonetheless. It would have been enough to incapacitate the man before a finishing blow.

As he was about to shoot however, two darts hit the back of his neck. He sucked his breath and slowly turned his head, seeing a flash of red out of the corner of his eyes.

His arms immediately dropped and he fell to his knees, his vision quickly fogging up with it. He took slow and deep breaths as he focused on staying conscious.

“I’ve always had complaints about those darts of yours.” He managed a shaky laugh as he used his hands to stabilise himself from falling. “I must say it’s good to see you Nat.”

Natasha had an indecipherable look on her face but her eyes were laced with concern, disgruntled at what had become of her close friend. The man she had gotten so used to being constantly by her side had diminished to somebody she could hardly recognise.

“Revenge isn’t going to change anything Clint.”

“You’re one to talk.” The blonde muttered, the sedatives finally taking over as his eyes shut and his body fell.

She then glanced over towards Fury who held his gun in his hands, “you alright?”

“I will be, for now let’s move him to a containment cell.”

As they arrived back on hellicarier the team discussed what to do regarding their situation with Clint. Steve and Tony along with Natasha stood in the control room of the interrogation room, monitoring their friend closely through the double-sided mirror.

The doors opened behind them and Kate reappeared, running towards the glass. Her eyes fluttered as she took a glance of her mentor, overridden with emotions to even comprehend the situation.

“W-What are you guys going to do?” The young woman asked, a frown etched across her face.

“I doubt he’ll talk, but at the same time he still seems keen on taking AIM down.” Steve thought aloud as he stroked his chin, “the most we can do is try.”

A beat passed before Kate spoke up, “I think he might be willing to talk to you the most Tony.”

The genius blinked and turned to meet her eyes, “are you kidding? I’m probably one of the last few people he wants to talk to.”

“He loved you Tony, even long after you guys broke up.” Kate smiled sadly and rubbed her shoulder, “I have no doubt that he still cares about you.”

He swallowed and bit his lip, “he hates us Kate.”

“He needs our help more than ever.” She shook her head and glanced back over at Clint, “we can at least try … _can’t we?”_

The room shared a glace before unanimously agreeing. Tony took in a deep breath before he entered the interrogation room. The second he walked in, he felt piercing blue eyes follow him across the room as he moved to sit in the chair across from them. He couldn’t help but feel like helpless prey, every single micro-movement being studied. The scary thing about Hawkeye wasn’t his perfect aim, _god no_ , it was his ability to read people, to pick up clues nobody else could ever find.

That might not have been obvious given Clint’s laxed nature, but he could have easily been one of the best in the business if he tried a little harder.

Despite all this, Clint’s gaze seemed to soften when he laid eyes on Tony, they weren’t as hostile in comparison to his interaction with Fury. It made him feel that _slight_ bit safer but he knew he shouldn’t let his guard down. However even _if_ Clint had intentions of harming Tony, his hands were cuffed to the table.

“You have no reason to believe me, but we didn’t know that AIM had you.” He started and filled the tense silence. The younger man continued to stare at him, his lips pursed shut. “SHIELD never told us you went missing.”

Clint’s eyes then turned away, “I’m tired of listening to you people talk.”

“Clint _please_ , you know AIM is hurting _innocent_ people.”

“So what?”

He stared in disbelief, “you became an Avenger to save people and now you’re willing to let them die? _Suffer?”_

“I’m no Avenger Tony.” The blonde scoffed and rolled his head back, “ _I’m a nobody.”_

“ _No_ , you’re a part of this team whether you like it or not.” He pushed as he jabbed his finger against the table, “a team that cares about you … _more than you know.”_

Blue eyes met his once again, this time turning ice cold, “don’t give me that shit.”

“I know we’ve betrayed your trust but _please_ give us another chance-“

“And why the fuck should I do that?” Clint bared his fangs and balled his fists until his knuckles turned white, “why should I risk getting hurt again on the chance of a weak promise?”

“Because I love you!” He suddenly raised his voice and watched as they stared at him in disbelief, “I hate watching you become _everything_ you once stood up against. You have _no fucking idea_ how much it hurts watching you lose yourself.”

Silence fell before them once again and Clint eyed him slightly before he laughed underneath his breath.

“You _love_ me?” The younger man continued to laugh to himself, his eyes glinting underneath the bright artificial lighting. “Oh how incredibly rich.”

“What-“

“Do you know what your love means to me Tony?” Clint sneered as his grin stretched from ear to ear, his eyes slowly moving back up to meet the engineer’s. “ _Absolutely fucking nothing.”_

His eyes widened when he watched the younger man slowly stand from his seat, the handcuffs coming undone and falling to the middle of the table. Their hands gripped around the table as they stared down at him like a predator. He gritted his teeth has he asked himself how Clint managed to undo the cuffs without him noticing. Nevertheless he told himself to stay calm, told himself that he wasn’t going to back down. In truth however, he was fucking terrified.

“Oh to have Tony Stark fucking love me!” They suddenly shouted and slammed their palms on the table causing him to jump, “what exactly does your love do for me Tony? It certainly didn’t fucking help me as AIM was breaking me apart piece by fucking piece!”

He stood from his chair and slowly backed up towards the wall, watching as Clint followed him threateningly. As much as he’d love to call for help he knew the situation would only escalate, so instead he raised his hand towards the double-sided mirror to stop anybody from rushing in.

“ _Clint_ -“

“You love anybody that spares you any sort of _genuine_ attention.” They breathed out, “ _why hm?_ Was somebody neglected as a child? Daddy didn’t give you enough attention?”

He chewed the inside of his lip as his back was pressed against the wall, as scared shitless as he was for some reason deep down he believed Clint wouldn’t do anything drastic.

“Answer the fucking question Stark!” The blonde suddenly took a hold of his lapels and slammed him against the wall behind him. “Are you that much of an attention seeker that you _love_ anybody that even looks in your direction?”

He let out a shaky breath as his hands tentatively rested over their arms. The look in their eyes sent a chill down his spine, but he knew they were putting up a front. He’s known Clint for long enough to know when they were in pain, know when they were desperately reaching for help.

So instead of saying anything else that could agitate them even more, he just repeated what came naturally.

“ _I love you Clint.”_ He managed a slight smile as he stared at them in the eyes, “you may not believe it but that’s how I feel about you.”

“You’re a fucking liar!” The blonde hissed as his grip tightened.

“If it means nothing to you then you have no reason to be so worked up over it.”

Their eyes faltered slightly, “ _shut up-“_

“We fucked up, _I know_ … trust me, _I know.”_ He said in a soft tone as he lightly gripped their arm, “and I know the trust you once had in us will _never_ be the same, but I love you Clint and there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.”

Clint shook his head, his breathing growing unsteady, “you don’t love me, we broke up-“

“We broke up because I couldn’t stand the thought of SHIELD hurting you.” He paused briefly as he licked his lips, “and unfortunately I was right.”

“Y-You’re just using me like they did-“ Their hands started to shake as their arms loosened, eventually letting go.

Tony watched as they backed off and stabilised themselves against the table, their body shaking visibly. His heart couldn’t help but sink as he watched their eyes turn glassy, the strong demeanour from earlier melted away in a matter of minutes.

“Do you remember our first date?” He tried with a smile and watched as their heads snapped up, the two meeting one another’s gaze again. “You didn’t let me treat you to some fancy dinner and we ended up eating at some pizza place in a dodgy alleyway?”

The younger man continued to stare at him, clearly thrown off by the sudden change of topic.

“The food wasn’t great if I had to be honest, but I had fun with you and that’s all that mattered to me.” He chuckled as he thought back on the memory, “and to add on top of that, it started to rain on the way home … _but_ you offered me your jacket in an attempt to keep me dry.”

“Why do you remember all this?” Clint whispered as he sniffled ever so subtly.

“I love you and I loved every single detail of our relationship no matter good or bad.” His smile softened and watched as tears inevitably ran down their face, “I _hated_ seeing you get hurt and ultimately I couldn’t bear it anymore, _so we broke up_.”

“ _Just stop talking.”_ The younger man shook his head, “nothing you say means anything to me.”

“We shouldn’t have ever let you leave.” He tried and took a hesitant step forward, “we shouldn’t have ever allowed SHIELD to send you away. You’re an Avenger and it was wrong of us to just let you go without a fight.”

“Shut up.”

“This team is your family.” He assured continually stepping forward pace by pace, showing his hands. “And if you don’t trust the Avengers then … _trust me.”_

Clint’s eyes glistened and he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, “I can’t-“

“I’ve never wanted to hurt you.” He smiled sadly, “I love you Clint, the last thing I could ever want is for you to be in pain.”

He eventually reached close enough where he could touch them. The younger man initially shied away when his fingers briefly touched their shoulder, but on a second touch they stayed in place. He slowly but surely pulled them close to his chest where they continued to sob as quietly as they could.

“I’m so sorry Clint.” He whispered and held them tightly as if he’d never let go, “I really am.”

“ _I-I was scared.”_ The blonde whispered as he sniffled and clutched against Tony’s shirt, “scared that they’ll have me forever.”

“ _Shhh.”_ His thumb stroked the back of their head, “it’s okay, you’re safe now. It’s going to be okay.”

“You can’t promise that.”

A beat passed as he continued to hold them, “no I can’t … but that won’t stop me from trying to make sure you’ll never be hurt like that again.”

**_HOURS LATER_ **

He paused briefly as he heard the doors to the laboratory open, he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eyes and turned his head towards them. He stepped down from the stool and placed the wrench aside before he took a step towards them.

“What are they going to do with him?”

Natasha breathed out and folded her arms across her chest, “the plan’s to keep him in containment until we figure out if he’s a danger or not-“

“ _Danger?”_ He scoffed and licked his teeth, “are you fucking kidding me-“

“I know Tony, _trust me.”_ She stopped him with a raise of her hand, “but looking at it objectively, we can’t treat him like he’s completely innocent.”

“So what? We lock him up forever and fuck with his trust again?”

She remained silent which only meant that he was right, SHIELD was really planning on treating Clint like a monster.

“We don’t have a say in the matter-“

“Bullshit we don’t!” He raised his voice at her before retracting and taking in a deep breath, “ _sorry_ , I’m just … _we can’t keep hurting him.”_

She closed the distance between them and rubbed his shoulder, “you’re not the only one who’s pissed at the decision Stark. The whole team vouched for Clint and we’re lucky SHIELD’s not doing anything more drastic.”

A moment passed and he chewed the inside of his lip, “can I at least see him?”

She pursed her lips, “I don’t know if they’ll let you.”

He smiled a little, “cover for me?”

She smiled back and gave him a brief nod, “alright.”

Later that night he snuck through security with blankets in his arms since he doubted that Clint would have any in his cell. Along with the blankets, he brought a plush toy that the younger man had won for him years ago at a carnival.

He opened the doors and his stomach couldn’t help but churn when he saw Clint in one corner with his knees to his chest. There wasn’t even a bed of some sort in the room, just a singular pillow on the other end of the cell. The sight of it made him feel sick, they were treating Clint as if he wasn’t a human being.

The blonde’s head lifted slightly when he saw Tony walk into the room. He watched as the engineer approached him with items that would hopefully make his cell a little more comfortable.

Tony sat down beside him and draped the blanket over them both before offering the soft toy. Clint took it tentatively and hugged it close to his chest. He couldn’t help but feel his cheeks flush red the second he saw the younger man press his head against the plushie.

“You kept this?” Clint muttered indicating the plushie.

He chuckled and leaned them against his body, “I kept everything you ever gave me.”

The blonde narrowed his eyes, “aren’t you going to be in trouble if they find out you were in here with me?”

“Maybe.” He muttered and shut his eyes briefly, “but what the hell are they going to do? Throw me in here too?”

Clint hummed, “don’t do anything stupid for me Tony, I’m not worth it.”

“ _No!”_ He hissed slightly and stared into their eyes, “you are worth it, more than you could ever imagine.”

The younger man’s lips twitched upwards, “I truly must be the luckiest guy in the world if I still have you by my side.”

He wrapped his arms around their shoulder and pressed his lips against the top of their head, “we’ll get through this okay? I’ll be damned if I’m leaving you alone ever again.”

Clint’s smile lingered as his eyes slowly shut, “thank you … _you have no idea what that means to me.”_

He wasn’t sure how long they sat there for, but it was certainly long enough for Clint to fall asleep beside him. He can’t imagine how exhausted they must have been, how long ago they last slept.

As he held Clint close to him, his mind couldn’t help but drift towards the thought of if they never found the blonde. If Clint had fallen through with his revenge plan, would he still be here … asleep in his arms?

It was a scary thought nonetheless, all he knew for now however was to continue to protect them until the end.


End file.
